Http Proxy Meaning
What are HTTP and the HTTP Proxy? – WatchGuard …
What are HTTP and the HTTP Proxy?
HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol)
is a protocol for sending and displaying files (text, graphic images, sound, video,
and other multimedia files) on the Internet. The HTTP Proxy is a high performance
content filter. It examines Web traffic to identify suspicious content, which
can be a spyware, malformed content, or another type of attack. It can also protect
your Web server from attacks from the external network using protocol anomaly
detection rules to identify and deny suspicious packets.
You can configure the HTTP Proxy to:
Only allow content that matches RFC specifications for Web server and clients
Restrict the content the Firebox allows into your network, based upon fully a qualified domain name, path name, file name or extension as it appears in the URL.
Restrict the content the Firebox allows into your network based upon MIME type.
Block downloads of any unique file type, including client-side executable files like Java and ActiveX, by file header (hexadecimal signature) pattern match.
Examine the HTTP header to make sure it is not from a known source of suspicious content
The HTTP proxy operates between the sending Web server and your receiving Web client. It processes the HTTP protocol line-by-line for any potentially harmful content before sending it to an internal Web client. It also acts as a buffer between your Web server and potentially harmful Web clients by enforcing HTTP RFC compliance and preventing potential buffer overflow attacks.
When you add an HTTP proxy policy to your Firebox configuration, you get access to two proxy actions that are included with the product: an HTTP server ruleset template and an HTTP client ruleset template. You can use these rulesets without changing them or you can use the rulesets as a base for a ruleset to meet the needs of your organization. This module shows you how to customize the rulesets in these two proxy actions.
HTTP-Client
The HTTP-Client proxy action is configured to give comprehensive protection to your network from the content your trusted users download from Web servers. An optional extension to the HTTP-Proxy (WebBlocker) is available to control the categories of Web sites trusted users are allowed to browse to at different times of the day.
HTTP-Server
The HTTP-Server proxy action is configured by default to allow most HTTP connections through to your public Web server, but stop any attempts to put files on your Web server or delete files from your Web server.
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How To Check the Proxy Server Settings on Your Computer
If you feel your Internet connection is slower than what it should be or you notice that certain websites get blocked while browsing, it could be because all your Internet traffic is going through a proxy server.
A proxy server is basically just another computer that sits between you and your ISP. It’s usually configured in corporate environments to filter web traffic going to and from employee computers. In this article, I’ll show you how you can check your proxy settings to see if your computer is indeed using a proxy server or not.
In most cases, you won’t actually be able to turn off the proxy server, since it is controlled by an administrator. However, there are times when personal computers accidentally or maliciously get set to use a proxy server.
Check Proxy Settings in Windows
In Windows, most browsers will use the proxy settings that are set on the computer. Each browser has a settings page to adjust proxy settings, but they normally just link to the settings dialog in Windows itself.
In Windows 10, there are two ways to go about changing the settings: via the Settings app or via the traditional Control Panel. I’ll mention both methods here because the Control Panel method is what you’ll need to use for Windows 7, 8 or Windows Vista.
Windows 10 Settings App
Click on Start and then click on the gear icon (Settings) at the far left. In Settings, click on Network & Internet.
In the left-hand pane, click on Proxy at the very bottom.
Here you have all the settings that are related to setting up a proxy in Windows. It’s basically split into two configurations: either Automatic or Manual proxy setup. In 99% of the cases, everything should be set to Off. If anything is turned on, your web traffic could be going through a proxy.
Control Panel
If you’re using an older version of Windows or if you just like the old way, you can edit the same settings via the Control Panel. Note that whichever way you choose to edit the settings, there are only one set of proxy settings in Windows.
Once you open Control Panel, just click on Internet Options.
In the Internet Options dialog, go ahead and click on the Connections tab and then click on LAN settings at the bottom.
Here you will see all the same settings as in the Settings app shown above. Anything you configure here will show up there and vice versa.
Check Proxy Settings in Mac OS X
If you are using a Mac with OS X, then the procedure is similar. You have to change the proxy settings in System Preferences as this is where most browsers check automatically.
Open System Preferences and click on Network. On the left-hand side, make sure to select the connected or active network connection. You can have different proxy settings for each type of network connection.
At the bottom, click on the Advanced button. Click on the Proxies tab and you’ll see a bunch of different protocols you can configure.
For example, if you click on Web Proxy (HTTP), you’ll be able to enter the proxy server IP address, port number, username and password.
Check Proxy Settings in Linux
In Linux, it really depends on what distribution you are running. Mostly, though, it’s going to be some version of KDE or GNOME. For example, in Linux Mint Cinnamon, which is based heavily on GNOME, you would click on the button and then click on System Settings.
Next, you would scroll down to Hardware and then click on Networking.
Finally, if you click on Network Proxy, you can choose from Automatic or Manual.
This is pretty much the same procedure for Ubuntu also, which uses Unity and GNOME. It’ll be different if you are using a different desktop environment. If you have any questions, feel free to comment. Enjoy!
SecureBlackbox 16: HTTP and HTTPS proxies – n software
Introduction
Modern proxy servers can be used as gateways for requests that access both HTTP and HTTPS resources. This causes confusion that leads to misconfiguration and sometimes security breaches. Below we will discuss how a proxy should be done properly for each type of request.
HTTP Proxy
In this flow, the HTTP client sends a request to the HTTP proxy, asking the proxy to retrieve the remote resource and forward it to the client. The resource can be accessed using a protocol different from HTTP; i. e., if the HTTP proxy supports this, the client can pass an FTP or other URL. This includes HTTPS resources as well. The HTTP client sends a request using common HTTP verbs such as GET, POST, HEAD, etc.
The HTTP proxy accepts the request from the client, analyzes it, and acts accordingly. If the remote resource needs to be retrieved (and cannot be taken from the cache, for example), the HTTP proxy establishes the connection to the remote server and acts as a client for that remote server. The resource is downloaded and passed to the client.
If the remote resource is accessed using the HTTPS protocol, the HTTP proxy validates the X. 509 certificate presented by the remote server.
End-to-end security cannot be achieved merely using this HTTP connection. It is possible to ensure security by protecting the resource beforehand, but even when both the client and the proxy use HTTPS, the proxy has access to the original data not protected by HTTPS. Moreover, the unprotected data possibly stays in the cache of the proxy (if the proxy uses caching).
HTTPS Proxy
HTTPS proxies were invented to ensure communication with end-to-end security. In this flow, the client sends a special request to the proxy with the CONNECT verb. The proxy builds an opaque tunnel by connecting to the requested server using TCP and nothing else. After the socket connection is established, the HTTPS proxy sends a 200 OK response to the client and starts forwarding data from the client to the server and back.
Such a design means that the client and the server are not limited to HTTPS traffic. In fact, any protocol can be tunneled using an HTTPS proxy and the CONNECT verb.
End-to-end security is achieved by establishing a secure channel between the client and the server after the proxy has connected to the server and confirmed the operation to the client.
An HTTP proxy should not be used for HTTPS resources for purposes other than debugging or espionage.
The SecureBlackbox components support both HTTP proxies (in the HTTP/HTTPS client and server components) and HTTPS proxies (in the socket class and all socket-based components and classes). The HTTPS proxy is called WebTunneling in SecureBlackbox.
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Frequently Asked Questions about http proxy meaning
Should I set proxy on or off?
It’s basically split into two configurations: either Automatic or Manual proxy setup. In 99% of the cases, everything should be set to Off. If anything is turned on, your web traffic could be going through a proxy.Oct 2, 2017
Is HTTP proxy safe?
HTTP Proxy This includes HTTPS resources as well. … End-to-end security cannot be achieved merely using this HTTP connection. It is possible to ensure security by protecting the resource beforehand, but even when both the client and the proxy use HTTPS, the proxy has access to the original data not protected by HTTPS.
What is my HTTP proxy server?
Check Your Operating System Settings Selecting one of the options shows the proxy server address if you set it. Windows: Run a search and open Internet Options and select the Connections tab in that window. Clicking LAN Settings shows your proxy server address and more details about your current network configuration.May 17, 2020
